PATNA: A 36-year-old non-resident Indian (NRI) was shot dead by unidentified armed criminals in Bihar’s Vaishali district, police said on Saturday.
The incident took place when the victim identified as Anand Shankar, an engineer working in the United States (UN), was returning to his native village Sakrauli Buchauli village under Mahisaur police station limits in Vaishali district on Friday.
The assailants waylaid Shankar near Ufraul Dainipul under Rajapakar police station and attempted to snatch a gold chain from him. On being resisted, one of the motorbike-borne criminals fired at the NRI from close range, causing grievous injuries to him.
The victim’s mother, who was with him, raised an alarm after the incident. The injured NRI was rushed to a private hospital in Patna where he succumbed to his injuries during treatment. The NRI was going to his native village to oversee the repair work at his ancestral village.
The deceased’s wife, a teacher at a private school, resides with their children in Hajipur, the district headquarters of Vaishali. The NRI had returned from the US to celebrate Holi with his family. After spending time with them, he was on his way to his native village on Friday when he was attacked.
The deceased’s six-year-old nephew identified as Harsh told the police that two youths riding a motorbike tried to snatch a gold chain from Anand Shankar when he had stopped near Dainipul on Hajipur-Jandaha road under Desari police station on Friday.
When Anand Shankar resisted, one of the criminals opened fire causing injuries to him. On hearing the alarm, a big crowd assembled on the site and got the injured admitted to a nearby hospital from where he was referred to a Patna-based hospital in critical condition.
The NRI died during the treatment at the hospital, an investigating officer said, adding that the body of the deceased has been handed over to the family after a postmortem examination. “Efforts are on to arrest the criminals involved in the incident,” the police officer added.
The murder of the NRI has sent shock waves among residents of Sakrauli Buchauli village.